I'm not the most articulate member of the T.M collective, but this is an effort towards an official statement. The Monsoon Bassoon has always, over its lifetime had the same dynamic 5 as the lineup. That could never change. We are, to each other, irreplaceable. So, if one of us couldn't continue to be in the band, it really, really wouldn't be the same. All for one and one... etc...

With this situation arising, splitting up was the only option. But it's not just about that... we can't stop change (yeah the wheels of time are turning...folks) and its exciting for us all to experiment with new idea's, be it individually or together. We are committed friends, redoubtable to the last...so there are and will be plenty of projects...just not under the name of The Monsoon Bassoon. We have made some truely tremendous friends, and had hell of a ride...I'm so glad to have been apart of the greatest psychedelic hard-fuck rocking bastard group of recent times...

Enough of the emotions...Respect to all and lots of love. Please excuse any errors in my bad hand.

Khyam on Behalf of Ursa (Thu Oct 18 10:59:13 2001)

What can i say...

We are gutted.

We have been in love with The Monsoon Bassoon, since we first met them/played with them, and to most of the people that are now of great support to us...at the West End Center in April 2000.

Both them and Geiger Counter, pulled us in and made us part of the scene that was going round...introduced us to many more bands...and helped us get on our feet by asking us to play so many gigs with them.

And we can honestly say that not one of those gigs was a dissapointment.

The support we had from the Monsoons was unheard of, not only were they a band that we all loved, they were a band that really influenced and inspired us, and we are honoured to have been able to share their last show with them.

We found out last night...but for me it has only just started to kick in. First Geiger Counter...now these guys.
what next?

the bassoon are inextricably linked with my getting back into live music when I first moved to london. I still remember the 'wow...what the fuck was that?!?' feeling I got from John Kennedy's first play of Wise Guy...waiting up to tape the next airing...rushing out to buy it...being surprised they were only a five-piece the first time I saw them at the Water Rats...inspiring me to start a (mercifully short-lived) fanzine...being blown away, falling in love and stalking them ever since. the finest british band (alongside geigers) since...err...we'll come back to that one.

the bassoon were the one band I was into that had cross-genre appeal with my less musically enthusiastic friends (who put me up at many an aldershot gig...starting out as landlords, finishing as fans).

If I see Laurie tomorrow, I'm going to slap his thighs. I still haven't gotten 'the end of the A38 tour'...

mark b (Thu Oct 18 17:06:52 2001)

well, i'm going to go further than that and say that i thought they were the best band i'd seen or heard in about 10 years.

the first time i heard them was on the original john kennedy show and he played wise guy right after our single and it blew me away, he then did the same thing again and it blew me away even more...i just had to find out who they were...bumped (by accident) into their then manager john as he was handing out flyers at a show, went to see them play that weekend and i was totally hooked.

i felt as if i had at last met some true allies.

after also getting to know them, play with them, share a single with them and have the honour of sarah play on our album...i doubt they know just how much all these things meant to me...but i can say it now...they were a total inspiration to everyone who knew the band and their music.

and they bought so many of us on this board together!

their new material was astounding.

khyam, i know how you feel. but you're in a damn fine band also, and i'm looking forward to seeing you play again soon, so please don't despair.

lets keep on fighting harder.

p p pete (Sat Oct 20 05:14:50 2001)

oh jesus no

thats come out of the blue reading that...i'm too stunned to think of anything to say. I will probably do at some point. All I can add at the minute is echo mark's remark about they being the best band of the last 10 years in his opinion. Without a fucking doubt, frankly.

if any of thems come down for Max T on sunday they'll get a drink and excessive love off of me at least, for every single thing that they did. i'm just..stunned, empty. stupid maybe but they were such an immense band to me..

RIP, you fucking kings.

TS (Thu Oct 18 19:45:45 2001)

Reminiscing

It feels weird, largely because I haven't been too connected with them for about a year and been distant from their whole world, maybe it's that it's not much change for me, but when I think back it's been all of six and a half years since I first saw the bassoon, two and half of which I've done the website. The fondest memory I have is from the spring of '96, the return of Keddie and the start of the bassoon proper, and it really was. During the break they had written Iceman's and came back with renewed energy, like they had changed overnight into something very special indeed and every gig without fail was brilliant. People that you never thought would be interested suddenly were, the NME even, and though it's declined through my eyes in the last year and now ended there's still the fact that their existence has prompted people to do their own creative things. Their website was the first I ever made, this site was started because of them, people have got to know each other around them, got into other bands through them, and it's been all for the better of everyone. They're not there anymore as The Monsoon Basoon, but they've brought us this far. The door's been opened, I think we should go through it and start opening the next one ourselves.

skippy (Thu Oct 18 11:31:14 2001)

i heartily endorse all the above

I don't really think it's sunk in with me yet either to be honest

they were the inspiration that got me off my arse to start this web site - and they are bloody nice people too!

one of their truly amazing feats was to be one of the bands played on the original Xfm. They were active in DemoX when Crapital took over the station to the point of playing the DemoX party (along with Rothko, Snow Patrol & Nightnurse) at the Underworld, and then, low and behold got a session with John Kennedy on the new Xfm - how cool! (now I know JK knew thay played this gig, but I doubt anyone else in the station did - thanks John)

*we need to get hold of that session CD*

live shows were never a disappointment

new recordings - amazing

it's a criminal offence that the new songs will never see the light of day

I salute a truly amazing and awesume band

Ursa must now take up the challenge left by this void

I'm sure we will see the members of TMB continue to produce music to stimulate

never tread water - keep moving!

sgibbs (Tue Oct 23 12:02:44 2001)

IT CANNOT BE TRUE

Typically, I've staggered onto all of this far too late, but from what I can gather reading the above thread, it seems that the bassoon are no more. why? surely they were just going to be away for a while, writing a new set for the second album, then coming back more amazing and theatrical than ever. and then the return of the mighty weird neighbourhood collective... but now this.... fuck, I can't get my head around it. whole-hearted agreement with everybody above who rightly identified them as one of the best bands of the last 10 years / my life time (& that's 28 bloody years - that's a lot of bands, i can tell you), making the most perfect music I've ever heard, one of the few bands to make me run up to strangers and yell their name in people's faces, they were that fucking great. but also agree that Ursa and their like should take on the mantle, keep pushing the boundaries.... fuck. that's all i can say.

somebody tell me it's a sick joke. please...

Sarah (Tue Oct 23 17:34:32 2001)

T.M.B

Wanted to post a note, but words can't really express what reading all of your messages means to me. I hope the other joe's(means T.M.B's) get to read them too, so they can have some idea of what's being talked about and said of the old bassoon. Take's time to sink in this splitting up business...we're all sad about it, but heck...some mighty damn good will come out I'm sure.